Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks at a special meeting of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators in January to discuss school funding. AP

Last month, Gov. John Kasich made waves with his school-funding proposal. The waves have not ceased ... and local districts are still bobbing up and down in rather deep troughs.

The first trough was anticipation before the release that the governor would announce drastic cuts. A temporary crest came with relief when he said no district would receive less than it had the previous year, and cautious optimism when he pledged to send more help to poorer districts.

A second, deeper trough was confusion when analysis of the plan showed many poorer districts received no increase, while some wealthier districts did.

The final and deepest trough is a lingering sense among school officials that no matter what's actually delivered when the Legislature passes a budget June 30 - which could be significantly different from the governor's proposal - most Ohio districts will still just be treading water.

That's because data from the Ohio Department of Education's school funding forms show that total per-pupil state funding from 2009 to 2014 increased from $3,573 to $3,697 - just $122 per student, over five years.

School leaders say it's simply not been enough to cover rising utility costs, benefits and even modest salary increases, let alone the cost of implementing the Common Core curriculum or the state's Third Grade Guarantee.

As one veteran school district treasurer put it, "I already feel overwhelmed."

School leaders say they're grateful their funding hasn't been cut. They appreciate more state support for students with disabilities and limited English proficiency and gifted students. And while they find details of the governor's plan still fuzzy - and say it doesn't go far in closing the gap between poor and wealthy districts - they welcome the attempt after four years without a state funding formula.

But they say continued uncertainty about state support is pushing districts to the breaking point.

? Constant cuts - or threats of them - have made it harder to recruit and keep good staff.

? More levy requests, or what seems like continual consideration of them, have strained relationships with their communities.

Meanwhile, administrators say it's hard to stay focused on daily operations - and impossible to put energy into the bold innovations Kasich says will ultimately save them - because they're waiting for the next shoe to drop.

The governor has warned districts he wants to draw down the number of them on the state "guarantee." The guarantee ensures districts don't lose basic state funds from one year to the next if the funding formula changes. Critics say the fact that two in three districts receive such subsidies is proof the state funding formula doesn't work, and that base funding is too low. Superintendents and treasurers say, advance warning or not, they can't afford to lose those funds.

Meanwhile, the governor has said the 24 districts with highest property valuation - Indian Hill among them - could lose all state funding.

These are unpredictable, but not surprising, developments for a state rebounding from recession and slowly shifting costs to communities and away from the state. Superintendents, used to dealing with shrinking budgets, say they get it - even if they don't like it.

But they also get that many of their families are rebounding, too, and can't afford property tax increases even if they want to support their schools.

And they hope that legislators get that strong and stable public schools are essential to a state's economic recovery - and that schools need the state to be a predictable and dependable partner.

And to keep them from drowning in future waves.

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Editorial: School districts to state - We need stable funding

Last month, Gov. John Kasich made waves with his school-funding proposal. The waves have not ceased ... and local districts are still bobbing up and down in rather deep troughs.